Starstruck Cowboy (Working Man Series Book 1)

by Elizabeth Rose

She was disgusted by T.J.’s low-down acts like buying up her ranch at the auction. What Luke hadn’t taken from her emotionally, T.J. had stolen from her in the physical sense.

  Star headed for the back window of Luke’s room, glad to see it was still opened a crack. It was still early and she hoped T.J. and the others were as lazy as they seemed and were still sleeping off a hangover from celebrating their purchase of the Bright Star Ranch.

  She contemplated just banging the door down, but wanted to sneak her bra out without T.J. knowing first. It was enough embarrassment that he’d caught her in bed with Luke. Needling her about her left-behind undergarment would only add insult to injury.

  Star quietly pushed up the window and lifted one leg over the sill. It was still dark in the room and she had trouble making out the furniture without turning on the light. If she remembered correctly, her bra was near the foot of the bed near the rocker.

  Patting her hands along the top of the bed to guide her, she slowly made her way to the rocker. The light flicked on at that moment and Teddy stood by the door with her bra dangling from one finger.

  “Looking for this, luscious?”

  “How dare you!” Star stormed up to him and ripped it from his hand.

  “Somehow, I knew you’d come crawling back here. Were you hoping to find Luke in here instead of me?”

  “I don’t want to see Luke or you ever again.”

  “Trouble in paradise, sweetie?”

  “Nothing I can’t handle.” She raised her chin bravely and stared him in the eye.

  “I thought when he told you he bought your ranch you would have fallen all over him thanking him for keeping it from me.”

  “What?” Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “My ranch? What are you talking about? You bought Bright Star, Teddy. Didn’t you?”

  A sinking feeling crept into Star’s chest thinking she may have made a mistake. And if she had, how many other mistakes had she made regarding Luke Tyler?

  T.J. chuckled and took a step toward Star. She backed away toward the bed, the bra still clutched in her hand.

  “No, sweetcakes, your lover boy beat me to it. Actually, I let him have it so he’d spend the money he’d saved for Circle T. I just kept bidding higher and higher and pulled out when I thought Luke was going to fold.”

  “Luke owns Bright Star then?” she asked, just to be sure she hadn’t misheard him.

  “Not anymore. He put it under your name, Star. So you own it.”

  “He did?”

  Teddy moved closer. Star backed up, the bed stopping her by hitting behind her knees.

  “You must have really done a number on him, Star.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Luke not only bought your ranch back for you but he traded in his Jeep he’d always wanted just to get that damned pickup for you.”

  “The truck was for me?” This was all too overwhelming. How did she not know about any of this?

  “You act like you two never talked. You should slow down a little and have a conversation once in a while.”

  Star realized that was true. Whatever she thought had happened between Velvet and Luke in the kitchen must have only been instigated on the woman’s part. After all, Luke did say he didn’t want Velvet and even had a hard time with the love scene. Star should have believed him.

  “He gave up his chance of getting back Circle T for a woman who ran out on him,” T.J. said with a chuckle. “Luke never was smart in dealing with women.”

  “You don’t know anything, Teddy. Luke is a gentleman and cares about me. I made a mistake, but I can see that now. I’m going back to him where I belong.”

  She tried to step away but T.J. pushed her down on to the bed. “You’re still my fiancée, Star. You’ll stay here and please me, then marry me like we intended all along.”

  “You only want me now because you know Luke wants me. You always wanted what he had, that’s why you had the will changed and convinced his father to make you half-owner of the ranch, isn’t it?”

  “You’re not only pretty, but smart, too.”

  Star had to keep talking to keep T.J. from jumping on top of her and having his way with her right there in Luke’s bedroom.

  “How did you do it, Teddy?”

  “I didn’t have to do much,” he admitted. “My mother convinced Luke’s old man to do it. After all, I was considered family after they married. The man was too lovesick to think straight.”

  “Then why did he put that loophole in the will?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose his conscience bothered him. It doesn’t really matter. You see, I knew Luke wouldn’t be able to come up with the money. He almost did, but I have you to thank for that, don’t I? You don’t deserve someone like Luke who would give up his dreams for you. You are no different from me, Star, so just admit it.”

  “I am nothing like you. How can you say that?”

  “No one will ever really love you because you are too selfish and way too jealous. So, you see, a marriage between us is your only shot at ever having a family.”

  Star felt horrible. She was the cause of Luke spending all his money and, therefore, giving up his lifelong dream. Circle T should have been solely his, but now thanks to her, he’d forfeited the whole thing to T.J..

  T.J. jumped atop Star and started ripping off her shirt just as the door to the room burst open. Luke ran in with T.J.’s two cousins right behind him.

  “We tried to stop him, T.J.,” one yelled. “He pushed his way past us.”

  Star took that moment of surprise to knee T.J. in the groin. He doubled over in pain just as Luke walked over and grabbed him from the bed by the collar.

  “You disgust me, T.J..” Luke slugged him in the face and threw him to the floor. Turning to Star, his eyes fell to her open shirt and the bra dangling from her hand.

  “You disgust me, too, Star.”

  “Luke, it’s not what you think.”

  One of the men took a swing at him but Luke punched him in the jaw, plus the other, depositing them both on the floor next to his moaning stepbrother.

  “I had such plans for us, Star, but you ruined everything.” Luke reached into his boot and pulled out a small box. “I went over in my head a thousand times how I’d bend down on one knee and ask you to spend the rest of your life with me. I thought it could work, but you came back to T.J.. I shouldn’t have been so stupid not to realize that the first time you came back here.”

  “Luke, that’s not true.” Star couldn’t say another word because of the tears that choked her.

  “Cash this in and use it however you want. I’m done.” Luke threw the box on the bed. “After all, I still owe you for the money you lost from selling the chickens, so now we’re even.”

  “Luke . . . no.”

  He stopped and turned around in the doorway. “If you have something to say, you’d better say it now, Star, because I’m about to walk away from you forever.”

  Star’s body trembled and she became so overwhelmed that she couldn’t speak. She wanted to tell him she was sorry and she wanted to make things better between them. But then she looked at T.J. who was gloating at her and his words pounded in her head. She wasn’t good enough for Luke. She was no different from T.J.. She was selfish and way too jealous. No one could ever love her. She was doomed to marry T.J. and be his wife.

  “I thought so,” said Luke, swiftly heading out the door.

  By the time Star had grabbed the ring box, gotten off the bed, and ran to the front door, Luke was already speeding away in his truck. Her heart felt three sizes too big for her chest, the tears streaming down her face. She was the cause of everything. There were no words to say to Luke to tell her how sorry she was for ruining his life.

  She slowly opened the box to see a beautiful diamond winking at her from within. She’d made a horrible mistake by all her assumptions, and also by not stopping Luke from walking out of her life forever. Part of her felt as if she deserved it, but Luke certainly d
idn’t deserve the rotten hand he’d been dealt in life.

  Star couldn’t let a man as wonderful as Luke Tyler walk out of her life when she’d been searching for someone like him in all her lonely years. Maybe she wasn’t the best catch and maybe she was too selfish and way too jealous, but Luke had seen past that and was willing to marry her and give up everything for her. No one had ever touched her heart in this way. She loved the man and she wasn’t going to let things end this way. Star didn’t know what to do but she had to fix things between them quickly or die trying.

  She slammed the lid shut on the ring box and walked over to the hall table and picked up the phone.

  Chapter 22

  Luke drove around aimlessly for hours, trying to sort out the whole thing in his head. He reached into his pocket for another cigarette, but his hand came out empty. He smashed the empty pack furiously between his fingers and threw it onto the floor of the cab.

  He didn’t know what to do, and had no idea of where to go. Night was already setting in and he was sure T.J. was throwing a celebration party back at Circle T about now.

  Luke looked at the gas tank and realized it was on empty.

  “Damn!”

  The truck sputtered and jerked and Luke pulled over to the side of the road just as it ran out of gas. It wouldn’t have mattered one way or another because he didn’t have a dime left to his name to put toward a gallon of gas anyway.

  Grabbing a flashlight from the glove compartment, he got out of the truck, preparing to walk. Luke knew he shouldn’t have left Star alone with T.J. and his cousins at the ranch, but he’d been too furious to think straight. If Star wanted to be there with T.J., who was he to stop her? He thought he knew Star better than this, but maybe she had been fooling him all along. His heart ached because he had honestly believed that she loved him, and he had fallen in love with her, too. He had so many plans for their future together, but now none of them were going to happen. Luke had no money, and he had no ranch or place to live. He had only a truck he put in Star’s name. He even quit his job working for Brent. He lost everything, including his pride. That is probably what hurt the most.

  He stuck the flashlight in his back pocket and pulled his Stetson low on his head. The sun was just setting but he was miles away from Bright Star Ranch. He would have to walk back to pick up Isobelle and then ride off into the sunset like a lonesome cowboy in one of Brent’s films. He wouldn’t be finishing the film, so he couldn’t count on getting any money out of Brent either. He was piss poor and he no longer cared.

  Luke figured he wouldn’t get to the ranch until close to midnight – something that would work well to his advantage. Everyone would be sleeping and he’d sneak out before anyone knew he’d returned. He didn’t have to give any excuses to anyone, not that he would have anyway.

  He stared up at the twinkling stars that were poking out there heads in the darkening sky. His heart felt like it was being yanked from his chest.

  “Well, Twinkles, I hope you’re happy with the life you’ve chosen.” He continued down the gravel road knowing he’d never be able to sing that child’s song ever again.

  Star paced back and forth in the barn, knowing that Luke might abandon her but he’d never abandon his horse. She ran a loving hand over Isobelle’s neck, getting a jealous snort from Licorice in the stall next to her.

  Maxi laid sadly with her nose between her paws, and Baby stopped clucking, seeming sad that Luke was gone as well.

  “He’ll come back,” Star assured her animals as well as herself. “He’s just got to. I’m going to make everything better again.”

  It was just before midnight when she saw the beam of a flashlight through the open door of the barn. Quickly, she blew out the lantern because she didn’t want Luke to see her and take off again before she had a chance to talk to him. Neither of them were any good with communicating, and the lack of it had caused so many problems between them. She never wanted something like this to keep them apart again.

  She heard his boots crunching over the straw of the floor and could smell his cologne as he entered the barn. She sat still on the bale of hay as Maxi jumped up and ran out to greet him.

  “Maxi, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” He sounded tired and sad, or maybe defeated. His footsteps stopped and she was sure he was bending down to pet Maxi. “Where’s my favorite Baby?” he asked the dog.

  Baby clucked from her perch on the shelf and Star saw Luke walk over to pet her as well.

  “You two take good care of Star for me, you hear me? I’m really going to miss her.”

  “Then why are you leaving?” asked Star from the dark.

  The bright beam of his flashlight blinded her as Luke shined it in her direction.

  “Star?” he asked. His voice sounded surprised but also held a note of sadness. “I figured you’d be married to T.J. by now.”

  Star got up and walked into the bright light. She couldn’t see his face and was almost thankful at the moment. It gave her the courage to say what she wanted him to know. It was what she should have told him before he walked out of her life at Circle T. This time, her tears weren’t choking her and T.J.’s words weren’t making her feel insecure. This time, she was going to talk with Luke and she wouldn’t shut up until she told him everything she wanted to say.

  “Why would I marry your stepbrother when you’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with?” she asked him. She took the flashlight and turned it off.

  “No, Star,” he said in a deep voice. “I need to see you when I talk to you.”

  Star heard the striking of a match and Luke reached up and lit the lantern. “That’s better,” he said. “Now say that again and, this time, I want to look in your eyes to know if you mean it or not.”

  She put her hands on his shoulders and stared deeply into his sad, blue eyes.

  “I do mean it, Luke. I love you and I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions about things before you had the chance to tell me the truth. You jumped to conclusions about me and Teddy as well.”

  “So, you don’t really want T.J. then?” he asked.

  “About as much as you want Velvet,” she answered.

  “Then why did you go back to Circle T? I don’t understand.”

  “To get this.” She pulled her bra out of her back pocket. “I left it there the day we made love. I wasn’t there messing around with Teddy, even if it looked like it. He tried to rape me, but you stopped him when you entered the room.”

  Luke’s arms snaked out around her waist. “I’m sorry, Twinkles. I should have known you’d never do anything like that. I guess I just let my hatred for T.J. blind me from the truth.”

  “No, I’m sorry, Luke. I jumped to conclusions about you and Velvet when I saw you two in the dark in the kitchen.”

  “Oh, God, you didn’t.” Luke shook his head. “She was trying to seduce me, but I swear we did nothing. I was telling her how much I loved you.”

  “I left before I heard that part, but now I wish I hadn’t.”

  “Why didn’t you stop me and tell me all this before I left Circle T?”

  “I wanted to, but I was too choked up to tell you how I felt. Teddy said some nasty things about me and said I didn’t deserve you. His words were stuck in my head, keeping me from talking.”

  “Don’t listen to him, Star. I am the one who doesn’t deserve you.”

  “Well, I made a mistake and I’m sorry. I never should have let you walk away from your own ranch.” Star smiled inwardly, knowing Luke hadn’t even noticed she called it his ranch.

  Luke removed his hat from his head and held it over his heart. Then he gently took her hand in his and got down on one knee. “I love you, Star. I love you and I want you to marry me and be my wife. I haven’t got a penny to my name, nor have I got anything to offer, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you if only you’ll have me.”

  Star got down on her knees with him and threw her arms around his neck. “Yes, yes, yes!” she exclaimed. “I wi
ll marry you, Luke Tyler, because I would be honored to be your wife, if you still want me after the way I’ve acted.”

  “You know I do.” Luke pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the top of the head. Maxi licked her face and Baby clucked from nearby. Star started crying.

  “Don’t cry, Star,” said Luke, wiping a tear from her eye. “Put on the ring. I want to see how it looks on you.”

  The smile disappeared from her face and she hoped Luke wasn’t going to get upset at what she had to tell him.

  “I don’t have the ring anymore, Luke.”

  “Why not?” he asked, pulling back and looking at her intently. “I left it at the Circle T when I stormed out. Please don’t tell me that T.J. stole it.”

  “No, he didn’t. I sold it, Luke.”

  “You did?” By the puzzled look on his face she knew she’d better explain before there was another misunderstanding.

  “I not only sold the ring but I sold Bright Star Ranch since you put it in my name.”

  “No, Star! Why did you do that?”

  “I did it to buy you a wedding present, Luke. You see, I was hoping that we would get married.”

  “It must be a hell of a present,” said Luke, looking at her in a suspicious manner.

  “All I can say is I hope it’s worth it.”

  “I’ll let you decide. Is Circle T a good enough swap?”

  “Circle T?” Luke got to his feet and pulled Star up with him. “Star, are you saying you bought my ranch with the money from the ring and Bright Star?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I bought out T.J. and put the ranch in your name so now you are the sole owner once again.”

  “But there’s no way, Twinkles. The money from that ring and your ranch wouldn’t be enough to buy out T.J..”

  “It would if the fool buyer was stupid enough to pay three times what this broken down ranch is really worth,” came a male voice from the door.

  “Brent?” Luke looked at the man who had his arm around Daisy. “Are you saying you were the one to buy Bright Star Ranch?”

  “That’s right. I even paid off a few people to make the sales go through right away. I’ll tell you it wasn’t easy. It’s all a write off, though since Valens Motion Pictures has a new headquarters right from the ranch, so it doesn’t matter.”